In the middle of the offseason, Fnatic used the INZONE London Clash to stage a showmatch with an apparent purpose: to unveil the new version of the VALORANT team following Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov’s departure and the already confirmed extension around Austin "crashies" Roberts. On stage, the lineup featured Jake "Boaster" Howlett, Emir Ali "Alfajer" Beder, Austin "crashies" Roberts, Kajetan "kaajak" Haremski, and the new addition Sylvain "Veqaj" Pattyn, previously reported by Sheep Esports.

Speaking to Yinsu Collins just before the match, Veqaj explained that he would be used as a flex player, meaning he would rotate across different agents depending on the team’s needs. The series backed that up: he started on Viper, then moved to Killjoy, and finished on Jett, delivering a few clean highlights on Abyss.

Fnatic, above all, showed that it remains solid team play. On Bind and then Haven, the first two maps, the British team controlled the pace and leaned on a very effective crashies as well as on Boaster’s usual structure, this time on Raze to close out Bind 13–4, then on Omen to take Haven 13–7. At 2–0, Fnatic had already achieved its main objective: demonstrating that the five players lined up for 2026 form a coherent unit that is already operational, even in the offseason.

Veqaj’s role confirmed

The most interesting phase of the series came on the third map, Abyss. That was where Veqaj swapped onto Jett and was able to show the more explosive side of his profile, while still fitting exactly what the staff had announced: a mobile player, capable of alternating between utility-heavy roles and space-making roles depending on the map. Despite his impact, GIANTX managed to take the map 13–11, underlining that the VCT core on the other side remains competitive.

On their side, GIANTX fielded their usual group, except Kirill "Cloud" Nehozhin, who, for one evening, made way for former GIANTX player Aaro "hoody" Peltokangas. Even though the team was outpaced on the first two maps, it took advantage of the last one to raise the level and punish Fnatic whenever the tempo dropped. For an offseason match, the level of play remained high and the opposition was sufficient to give Fnatic a meaningful test.

In the end, the London organisation left with exactly what it came for: a successful home event, a roster clearly presented to the public, a newcomer who delivered in the role he announced, and a 2–1 win that sets the tone ahead of the proper return of VCT EMEA.